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A few weeks went by, and the Big Arms Inc boys were just living and working normally.
There was no news from Al or Arceus about the whereabouts of other gods.
So, for now, they waited.
One day, as Bill went for a coffee break, Bill spotted an Infernape taking his order.
"Wait... Caleb?! Caleb, that's you?"
The Infernape turned in surprise at the Mega-Swampert's outburst.
"Bill?!"
It was indeed Caleb, the publicity man of Bill's former bodybuilding company, the guy who presented the bodybuilders, arranged the gigs, dealt with the public relations.
"It IS you!" exclaimed Bill. "Holy crap, it's been how long?!"
"A while. Bill, I'm busy, so excuse me but..."
"Tut tut tut! You can take five minutes for a buddy, no?"
Bill then told Caleb all about how his life went after he left the bodybuilding world (except for the secret details about the gods, obviously).
"But enough about me!" he concluded. "What about you, man?"
"I got fired, Bill."
That was a brutal cold shower to the Mega-Swampert's enthusiasm.
"WHAT?!"
Only now he saw the big black shadows under the Infernape's eyes, or his depressed expression.
"Fired. Recently."
"Why?!"
"They said I was too soft, not agressive and pushing enough."
"The dicks! You were awesome, man!"
Silence.
"And... What are you doing now?"
"I tried finding another job similar, but no one has needs for my talents, so I'm surviving with little jobs. But right now, I have nothing..."
"Fuck..."
Another silence.
"Dude, you're not actually busy right now, are you."
"No. I said the contrary because I was ashamed. But it's actually a relief, having told someone about it."
"Me, I gotta get back to work. You wanna come?"
"What?!"
"I'm not gonna let you mope all alone! Come on, I'll introduce you to my buds! You'll like them!"
Caleb hesitated for a few instants, but accepted.
The Big Arms Inc boys accepted kindly to let Caleb stay with them for the afternoon.
"A friend of one of us is a friend of all of us," smiled Angus, who came back from his forced rest and had eventually forgiven Bill for his "betrayal".
The afternoon went really well. Caleb felt really accepted, gave a hand for the manual work... He even, for a few precious minutes, forgot that he was jobless.
For the first time since his firing, he felt good.
Then came night. And the cruel reality reminded itself to him.
He thus said sadly goodbye to Bill and the others.
"Thanks, man. I really had a great time."
"I wish it could be longer," muttered sadly Bill.
A sad silence came.
"Niko?" suddenly asked - strangely loudly - Angus. "How's the paperwork going?"
"Normal," replied Niko.
"And the negotiations for more gigs?"
"Well, that's harder. There's a lot to do here, and I'm not really qualified for it."
Bill frowned. What were they talking about? It was Angus who dealt with getting gigs, not Niko. And why were they talking about it now?!
"Boss, we'd need an expert. A smooth talker, a guy who can do publicity, that stuff..."
"In other words, you want me to hire a PR officer," interrupted the Conkeldurr.
"Yeah."
"And where am I supposed to find one?"
"Gee, it's not like we spent the afternoon with a perfectly qualified guy," snarked the Electivire.
Bill and Caleb gaped in shock.
"You're... You're serious?!" exclaimed the Infernape. "You really want to hire me?!"
With a smile, Angus took out an already filled contract, missing only the signatures.
"Yes. We do need a PR officer, and I genuinely think you'll be perfect for it. And you proved you were willing to do the main condition to work here: participate in the manual labor."
Caleb tried to reply, but he was too busy weeping with joy to manage to utter a single word.
So Bill did it for him.
"Thank you, Angus! Thank you so much!"
Art by
hikaze
Bill and Caleb © me
Mega Swampert and Infernape © Game Freak
A few weeks went by, and the Big Arms Inc boys were just living and working normally.
There was no news from Al or Arceus about the whereabouts of other gods.
So, for now, they waited.
One day, as Bill went for a coffee break, Bill spotted an Infernape taking his order.
"Wait... Caleb?! Caleb, that's you?"
The Infernape turned in surprise at the Mega-Swampert's outburst.
"Bill?!"
It was indeed Caleb, the publicity man of Bill's former bodybuilding company, the guy who presented the bodybuilders, arranged the gigs, dealt with the public relations.
"It IS you!" exclaimed Bill. "Holy crap, it's been how long?!"
"A while. Bill, I'm busy, so excuse me but..."
"Tut tut tut! You can take five minutes for a buddy, no?"
Bill then told Caleb all about how his life went after he left the bodybuilding world (except for the secret details about the gods, obviously).
"But enough about me!" he concluded. "What about you, man?"
"I got fired, Bill."
That was a brutal cold shower to the Mega-Swampert's enthusiasm.
"WHAT?!"
Only now he saw the big black shadows under the Infernape's eyes, or his depressed expression.
"Fired. Recently."
"Why?!"
"They said I was too soft, not agressive and pushing enough."
"The dicks! You were awesome, man!"
Silence.
"And... What are you doing now?"
"I tried finding another job similar, but no one has needs for my talents, so I'm surviving with little jobs. But right now, I have nothing..."
"Fuck..."
Another silence.
"Dude, you're not actually busy right now, are you."
"No. I said the contrary because I was ashamed. But it's actually a relief, having told someone about it."
"Me, I gotta get back to work. You wanna come?"
"What?!"
"I'm not gonna let you mope all alone! Come on, I'll introduce you to my buds! You'll like them!"
Caleb hesitated for a few instants, but accepted.
The Big Arms Inc boys accepted kindly to let Caleb stay with them for the afternoon.
"A friend of one of us is a friend of all of us," smiled Angus, who came back from his forced rest and had eventually forgiven Bill for his "betrayal".
The afternoon went really well. Caleb felt really accepted, gave a hand for the manual work... He even, for a few precious minutes, forgot that he was jobless.
For the first time since his firing, he felt good.
Then came night. And the cruel reality reminded itself to him.
He thus said sadly goodbye to Bill and the others.
"Thanks, man. I really had a great time."
"I wish it could be longer," muttered sadly Bill.
A sad silence came.
"Niko?" suddenly asked - strangely loudly - Angus. "How's the paperwork going?"
"Normal," replied Niko.
"And the negotiations for more gigs?"
"Well, that's harder. There's a lot to do here, and I'm not really qualified for it."
Bill frowned. What were they talking about? It was Angus who dealt with getting gigs, not Niko. And why were they talking about it now?!
"Boss, we'd need an expert. A smooth talker, a guy who can do publicity, that stuff..."
"In other words, you want me to hire a PR officer," interrupted the Conkeldurr.
"Yeah."
"And where am I supposed to find one?"
"Gee, it's not like we spent the afternoon with a perfectly qualified guy," snarked the Electivire.
Bill and Caleb gaped in shock.
"You're... You're serious?!" exclaimed the Infernape. "You really want to hire me?!"
With a smile, Angus took out an already filled contract, missing only the signatures.
"Yes. We do need a PR officer, and I genuinely think you'll be perfect for it. And you proved you were willing to do the main condition to work here: participate in the manual labor."
Caleb tried to reply, but he was too busy weeping with joy to manage to utter a single word.
So Bill did it for him.
"Thank you, Angus! Thank you so much!"
Art by
hikazeBill and Caleb © me
Mega Swampert and Infernape © Game Freak
Category Artwork (Digital) / All
Species Pokemon
Size 2087 x 1766px
File Size 448.7 kB
Listed in Folders
That's not the first time
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/23440688/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/24938741/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/23440688/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/24938741/
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